So long story short An old man rear ended my parked truck while parked out in front of house.

Cops cited him and all that’s great.
BUT

I now have a 16 foot trailer full of logs and branches, and the latch on the hitch is broken and the socket is deformed.

It bent the factory class 3 / 4 (Not sure what it is. But at least a 3) the bumper and look like the frame is pushed down as well. Hell it knocked plat of and striped the screws out.

My questions are:
How do I get insurance to move the logs/branches to the yard waste recycling center.
How do you tow a broken trailer?

On top of that I use the truck for my second job as a handy man. So can I get a truck rental from his insurance? On top of that was one of my jobs was building a deck of the next two month and I needed to get a load of concert/ Mixer, auger and materials. Not to mention I was about to start on Footing for my new garage.

Needless to say I need a truck / trailer over the next two months. So am I going to be able to get his insurance to pay for this?

The other thing is should I take it to a ford dealership or Just the same old body shop I have always used. I have never needed a car repaired that may have frame damage.
I am in Columbus Ohio and have used Rifes Autobody In Grandview.
One more thing, the truck was parked and when he hit me it move the truck diagonal about a foot, should I worry about the transition.

Thanks

 

The only rental company I found that had trucks was Enterprise. Make sure you tell them you need a full size pick up. Im not sure how to handle the loaded trailer situation. I might try explaining the Damages to Your insurance co. They should go after the other insurance co. for the cost of repairs. Thats what they are being paid for. There would also be labor costs for the transfer of materials from your trailer to a rental trailer. They may even Total your trailer because of the cost to repair it. Get multiple quotes for prices for a comparable trailer. You may be able to get a new trailer out of this. I wish you the best of luck. J.B.

 

If the bodyshop you have been using has a frame machine, they should be able to repair your truck. If not find a shop that has one and a good reputation.